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Great Lakes · Lake Huron, Michigan · East Tawas, Michigan

Tawas Point

also known as Tawas Bay, Tawas Point State Park

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Tawas Point has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

SeasonMay to Novthe months riders and schools name How windy11-20 ktmixed Launchhugeaccess rules on record, below Watermixed20°C in summer · 12 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section

Schoolsnone named here

From the airport100 minMBS International (MBS)

When it fills in

The summer thermal fills in around midday, roughly noon, and usually holds until evening.

Tawas Point is a sand spit curling off the Michigan shore of Lake Huron, open water on one side and shallow Tawas Bay on the other. Ride either side and almost any direction works: the point takes N, E, SE, S and SW, the bay takes SW, W and NW.

In summer the land heats and pulls in a south-easterly around midday that usually runs to evening, so warm sunny days here produce wind no forecast promised. Inside the point, sand reefs shelter dead-flat water people use for speed runs and for loading up big jumps; outside, it goes to chop and small-to-medium waves. Wide beach, sand and grass.

The bay water is shallow and warm, peaking near 20 C in mid-August, and two schools have worked this stretch for years, which is part of why it is one of the easier places in the country to learn.

The friction is the designated swimming beach in the day-use area: walk south of it before you rig, because a kite has already dragged a rider up onto that sand.

The wind

Direction

cross-onSE through SW

Kite sizes

7891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: The summer thermal fills in around midday, roughly noon, and usually holds until evening.

Typical strength

No measured session range is published for the point. Schools set their floor at about 13 mph, roughly 11 kt, before a lesson goes ahead, and put the working band at about 13-23 mph, which is 11-20 kt; that covers the ordinary summer thermal. Spring and autumn frontal days run harder than that. The year-round station mean of 6 kt with 11 kt gusts counts every calm hour of every season and is a climate figure, not a riding number.

Steady rather than gusty once the thermal is established. Because you can ride either side of the spit, almost any direction is rideable: the point takes N, E, SE, S and SW, the bay takes SW, W and NW.

Season runs May to November, with June through September the reliable core and the two local schools working May to October. The point sticks into the lake and catches summer thermals: land heats, a south-easterly gets pulled in around midday, and warm sunny days with a southerly flow often produce wind the forecast did not promise.

The long-run station mean at the point is 6 knots with 11-knot gusts, but that counts every hour of every season from 2008 to 2026, so it is a climate average and not a session number.

Thermal or synoptic

thermal

The quiver, in words

Indicative, derived from the lesson-wind band rather than from rider reports. A 75-85 kg rider does most summer thermal days on a 12m, wants a 14-15m to make the 11-13 kt bottom end worth rigging for, and drops to a 9m when a spring or autumn front pushes past 20 kt.

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

SE through SW, with W and NW working the bay side

Forecast

Month by month

Jan56
Feb53
Mar56
Apr60
May, riders' month47
Jun, riders' month52
Jul, riders' month31
Aug, riders' month60
Sep, riders' month40
Oct, riders' month69
Nov, riders' month77
Dec68

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.

56%Jan
53%Feb
56%Mar
60%Apr
47%May
52%Jun
31%Jul
60%Aug
40%Sep
69%Oct
77%Nov
68%Dec

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · season highlighted

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	From	Peaks at	Air	Readings
Jan	56%	82%	77%	15.8 kt	SW	13:00	-4°C	62
Feb	53%	88%	75%	16.8 kt	SSW	14:00	-2.7°C	57
Mar	56%	89%	85%	15.9 kt	S	14:00	0.5°C	62
Apr	60%	92%	90%	16.7 kt	S	15:00	6.3°C	60
May	47%	79%	68%	14.3 kt	NE	14:00	12.8°C	62
Jun	52%	85%	80%	14.9 kt	NE	16:00	18.4°C	60
Jul	31%	74%	65%	13.3 kt	S	15:00	20.9°C	62
Aug	60%	79%	76%	15.2 kt	S	14:00	20.2°C	62
Sep	40%	67%	52%	13.1 kt	S	14:00	17.7°C	60
Oct	69%	90%	84%	15.8 kt	S	11:00	11.3°C	62
Nov	77%	93%	87%	17.8 kt	NW	10:00	4.9°C	60
Dec	68%	87%	79%	17.1 kt	WSW	10:00	0.2°C	62

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

true

Tides

None. Lake Huron has no meaningful tide; what changes is the multi-year lake level, and that decides how much water sits over the sand reefs inside the bay.

Temperature

20°C summer

Wetsuit

Mid-August is the warm peak at around 20-21 C, where a 3/2 is comfortable and boardshorts are survivable. May and late October are a different sport and want a full suit.

The point is a sand spit with the open lake on one side and Tawas Bay on the other. Bay side is shallow, warm and sandy, with sand reefs sheltering dead-flat water used for speed runs and for loading up jumps. Lake side runs to chop and small-to-medium waves.

Shallow enough over a wide area that much of the bay is walkable.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Shallow warm bay water, a sand bottom and a very large beach make this one of the easier places in the US to start, and two schools have taught here for years. The flat water behind the sand reefs suits freestyle and speed; the lake side gives chop and small-to-medium waves for anyone who wants more.

The scene

What riders come here for

flatwaterfreeridelearningfreestyledownwinders

A family state park beach in high summer, with a small organised kite scene built around two schools rather than a loose crew. Weekends fill the lot and the swim beach. Riders keep to the south end and the bay, and the tone is protective: the spot is treated as something that could be lost.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: huge

access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

Both schools run PWC-assisted instruction, so there is a jet ski on the water during lessons. Outside a lesson there is no organised rescue, though most of the bay side is shallow enough to walk.

Launch

Use the parking lot at the end of Tawas Beach Road, walk over the dunes to the beach and head south, away from the designated swimming area. That is a medium walk from the car. The bay side is reached from the campground beach, which is the shallow warm water; the point itself is the exposed option.Sand and grass, with parking, toilets, showers and food at the park.

Space

huge

Rules & access

Kiteboarding is allowed from Michigan state park beaches: the land-use order that bars entering the water from a state park beach carves out kiteboarders, who must keep the board under control at all times, use a safety leash and dress for cold water (order text current 2026).

A Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry to Tawas Point State Park: $17 at the park (2026), $15 added at licence-plate renewal (2026). Launching next to swimmers or on the crowded day-use beach is not acceptable; the local convention is to walk south past the swim beach before rigging.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Park at the far lot at the end of Tawas Beach Road, cross the dunes and walk south past the swim beach before you rig.
Do not write off a light July or August forecast. If it is warm and sunny with any southerly component, the thermal usually builds around noon.
Ride the bay side behind the sand reefs for flat water and the lake side for chop and small waves. You can swap mid-session by walking across the spit.
Buy the Recreation Passport at the gate or carry the one on your plate; it is a vehicle-entry requirement, not a donation.
Check whether the state park campground is open before you plan around it. It was shut through the 2025 season for electrical work.
Ring a school before driving up on a marginal forecast. Lessons here do not run below about 13 mph, which is a fair proxy for whether the bay is worth rigging at all.

Getting there

Airport

MBS International (MBS) at Saginaw, 80 miles and about 1h40 by car. Alpena County Regional (APN) is closer at 69 miles but has far fewer flights.

Route

A car is needed. US-23 runs up the Lake Huron shore into East Tawas; the park sits at the end of Tawas Beach Road.

Transfer

100 min

Staying

The state park has a modern campground on the bay side, right where the shallow water is. It closed on 31 May 2025 for electrical upgrades and was due back in spring 2026, so confirm before booking around it. Motels and rentals fill East Tawas and Tawas City, and there are bed-and-breakfasts down the shore towards Oscoda.

No-wind days

Tawas Point Lighthouse inside the park, the only true Victorian-era light station on the Great Lakes. The point is a heavily used spring and autumn migration stopover and pulls birders from across the Midwest. The Tawas Bay Multi-Use Trails link into the Iron Belle Trail.

FAQ

Is Tawas Point suitable for beginners?

Yes, the spot is listed for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders, with a broad sandy state park beach and shallow protected water on the bay side.

What is the wind like?

Southeast, south, southwest and west are the listed directions, driven by summer thermal wind, with May through November as the best months.

What hazards should riders know about?

Hazards include swimmers, boats, jet skis, buoys, stakes and other bystanders sharing the water.

Last updated: August 2026